The present invention relates generally to an axle shaft turner, and more specifically to an apparatus for the off-highway in-place machining of spindle shafts on self-propelled motor vehicles which utilize a dead shaft or spindle secured adjacent the opposed ends of a housing. The apparatus is designed for field operation, and is particularly useful and desirable in the re-machining of spindle shafts of large trailers or trucks, particularly such trailers or trucks which have suffered damage to the spindle due to bearing failure or the like.
In the utilization of over-the-road trucks, wheel bearings may fail from time to time, and such instances normally occur on occasions when the vehicle is traveling in areas remote from a service facility. When bearings fail, spindles tend to suffer damage from the failure, and when the bearing is replaced, the damaged spindle shaft must be treated so as to become true along a central axis, free of roughened zones, and frequently rethreaded at the outer ends. Since the apparatus of the present invention is light in weight, and readily portable, it is designed for use in the field on an off-highway basis and may be used to machine and/or thread the spindle of a heavy vehicle such as a truck or trailer, while it is disabled along the roadside. The apparatus employs its own drive power, and the user may select a motor that operates from a 12-volt DC battery supply or 110 AC supply, or from any other suitable power source, preferably a portable source. The apparatus is efficient in its operation, low in cost, and capable of use without requiring an expensive lathe bed or the like.